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| A Black Evil by Nesta | 15 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Elena Tiriel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/17/2009 |
| What a powerful story, Nesta -- vivid and disturbing. I, too, had been disturbed by the implications of Saruman's interbreeding of Men and Orcs, but did not want to think about it too closely. At least they had one person who remembered them in later years.... Well done! - Barbara Author Reply: Thank you, Barbara! For many years I didn't think about it much at all, but once the implications struck me I couldn't get the idea out of my mind. | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/17/2009 |
| A chilling and powerful story. Author Reply: Thanks, Linda! It certainly isn't the most uplifting side of Middle Earth, but since the story was written during and after World War II, I think Tolkien would have had such horrors at the back of his mind, although he wisely didn't wallow in them. | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/17/2009 |
| Sad and haunting indeed. Faramir was definitely a good choice to treat with these poor women. I am a little surprised that he didn't at least try to dissuade them from seeking death, ask them to give freedom, with food and rest and different accomodations, a chance before making their decision... I had the feeling that the women were "loathsome" only in their own eyes; but that was enough. Saruman didn't suffer enough in my opinion; he had been of the Wise, his betrayal, and what he ordered and allowed to be done to these women goes way beyond cruel... Nice to see a new Tolkien fanfiction story from you! Author Reply: I knew somebody would raise that thoughtful objection, Raksha, and I might have known it would be you! You're quite right of course, and I think Faramir did speak to every victim individually to make sure they weren't being peer-pressured into killing themselves (we know it can happen quite easily), and to give them every chance of choosing to live. I didn't go into this for fear of making the story too long. But would any of them want to, after that? I don't think I would. I suppose it all comes back to old, old euthanasia question: euthanasia is hedged about with moral perils, but to condemn someone hurt beyond healing to live, when they only want to die, seems to me to be the last refinement of cruelty. Tolkien, as a devout Catholic, would doubtless disagree. It's not the same thing as Denethor's suicide, though: that was a matter of purel pride and selfishness, and there was a lot that Denethor could have done to help his city, had he lived. Saruman is in many ways more repellent than Sauron, both because he's a traitor and because he is so much closer to ordinary humanity (or wizardry?). There may be something darkly splendid about the distant menace in Barad-Dur, but there's nothing splendid about what Saruman chooses to become. You can do an awful lot of evil in a small mean way. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/17/2009 |
| I have plans for just such a story in the future, when I come that far in "Stirring Rings." I doubt, however, that I can equal yours for the grief of it. Saruman in his way was as bad as his fallen brother, whose works he emulated. Author Reply: There must be many ways of telling this story, Larner. I think in some ways Saruman is worse than Sauron, because unlike Sauron he knows how good people think and act, and can turn this against them - as when he entraps Gandalf in 'The Fellowship'. And he betrayed the cause, of course. At least Sauron was consistent in evil and you knew where you were! | |
| Rugi | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/17/2009 |
| I'm so impressed by how sensitively but unsentimentally you have written about this topic. I have to admit that my mind always tended to skitter away from thinking too deeply about what "crossing men with orcs" really meant. I also think it was brilliant that you incorporated the quote into the story. The horror of evil is that it cannot be undone. I also think that you were right to have Faramir be the one to face the women. He would understand irreversible evil, cruelty, war, and hurting love very well. I wonder what he thought about, in light of Denethor's despair and actions? This kind of encounter puts "despair" in true perspective. Anyway, I think I'm rambling. Wonderful work here. Author Reply: As I said to Racksha, I don't think the parallel with Denethor is too close, but it must have belonged to the same dark area of Faramir's mind. Denethor's despair is of a different sort, though: he refuses a life in which he could still have done some good. Gandalf defines despair as the attitude of someone who can see the end beyond all doubt. Denethor might have thought he had done so, but he was wrong, as he'd have realised if he'd listened to Gandalf, or even reminded himself quite simply that his son was still not dead and his city was still not taken. That kind of despair is simply rejecting salvation, and is the sin against the Holy Ghost for which there is no forgiveness. I think these women truly did see the end - of any life worth living - beyond all doubt and were merely seeking an end to suffering. That's forgivable - I hope! I always wondered why Faramir and Eowyn's wedding took place so long after their betrothal. Perhaps Faramir had to put some nasty experiences behind him first. | |